


Because of Me (The Blame Game)

by moonlightnightmare



Series: Beautiful Trauma [1]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Gen, Qrow is Ruby's dad, a little pre-canon thing i got inspired to do, canon events with a different outcome, it's canon to that universe, okay but i got inspired, sorta - Freeform, this is a companion piece to Beautiful Trauma
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-31
Updated: 2017-10-31
Packaged: 2019-01-27 07:36:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 655
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12576872
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moonlightnightmare/pseuds/moonlightnightmare
Summary: A companion one shot to Beautiful Trauma, takes place a few weeks before the canon of the fic.Gods, her words weighed him down like a ton of bricks on his chest. Her current state only adding to the weight that threatened to crush him. He had to get her to breathe. That was his first priority, no amount of words would do any good, if she passed out from lack of oxygen.“Ruby, take a deep breath.” Didn’t work. “Ruby, look at me. And breathe.”





	Because of Me (The Blame Game)

**Author's Note:**

> IT's yo girl back at it again with this little thing inspired by what I feel would've been a logical response for Ruby to have had to the events in Oniyuri. 
> 
> Check out the main fic for this Universe: http://archiveofourown.org/works/12541936/chapters/28560968

It’d been almost a week since Team RNJR’s first meeting with Tyrian Callows. One week since her Uncle had been poisoned by his stinger. And honestly, even though they were safe in Mistral, and he’d gotten help, Ruby Rose still couldn’t shake the fact that he’d gotten hurt. No. Every night for the last damn week, it’d played in thoughts, in her dreams. 

Every time it played in slow motion. The beam falling, her body frozen in fear about to be crushed. Her Uncle slicing through it, that tiniest moment of distraction where he offered her a relieved smile. And the moment Tyrian had struck. 

If she’d have stayed out of it, stayed out of the way------ If she’d have just done as she was told. It was her fault. He’d almost died and it was her fault. 

She sniffled, a hand raising to wipe the tears beading at her eyes away. She couldn’t protect anyone, could she? Not true. They’d helped a whole bunch of people on their journey here. She’d saved a bunch of people. Just not the ones that mattered. 

Penny, Pyrrha, and now her Uncle. 

“What’s wrong, kiddo?”Her attention turned to her Uncle, whose eyes were half open. And the dam broke. She hadn’t really cried about it, until that moment. And now that she was, well, it was sufficient to say that she was miserable. 

\----------------------

He was still half asleep, feeling the effects after effects of the pain medication that the doctors had given him after they’d administered the antidote to the poison that had almost killed him. But his dad senses were tingling, still active after all these damn years. And sure enough, when her forced his eyes open a crack to look at Ruby, she had tears in her eyes. Though when he asked her what was wrong, he hadn’t at all been expecting the answer that seemed to pull him fully into the world of wakefulness. The after high of the pain meds a forgotten memory. 

“I’m sorry.” The sob that ripped from her throat was heartbreaking. He forced himself upright as the words came spilling forth. “I’m sorry I didn’t listen. You got hurt because I----- You almost died…. I---if I’d have listened, you wouldn’t have been distracted, you wouldn’t have gotten hurt.”

Gods, her words weighed him down like a ton of bricks on his chest. Her current state only adding to the weight that threatened to crush him. He had to get her to breathe. That was his first priority, no amount of words would do any good, if she passed out from lack of oxygen. 

“Ruby, take a deep breath.” Didn’t work. “Ruby, look at me. And breathe.”

Some of the weight disappeared when she heaved in a deep breath, her breathing working back towards a normal pace. Good. 

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

It wasn’t very often that he played the role of a father figure, or at least, not to his knowledge. But this was one of the rare exceptions. He shushed her in the way he’d done when she had been so much smaller. An action reminiscent of the days when he’d been her father. He pulled her into a tight hug, holding her until she calmed. 

When he released her, she fell back into the chair she’d pulled up beside his bed. 

“Listen to me, kiddo. This wasn’t your fault. You got that? This was not your fault.” He huffed a sigh. “I know you’re not going to believe me, but you don’t know what might have happened. Things could’ve ended far worse. You can’t tell the future, Ruby.” And he was unfortunate enough to be a magnet for terrible luck. “I’d do it all again to keep you safe.”

Her small nod was enough, coupled with the ghost of a sad smile that crossed her features, to tell him that she understood him loud and clear.


End file.
